Schola Vita & Bellum
by seonabobbins
Summary: Response to lady clark of books' challenge. The characters from Robin Hood face life at a 21st century school. The divide between rich and poor is still the same, and although the teachers try keep order, the power struggle between students is evident.
1. Chapter 1

King Richard Academy was a posh sounding name for a state school, though most schools nowadays had posh names to make them more attractive. Though King Richard Academy was anything but attractive; the grey stone building was surrounded by tarmac, and the playing fields at the back were bog and mud, the grass having been torn up ages ago. Behind the playing fields, where King Richard Academy's football team played home games and where other school's football teams would immediately lose, was the woods.

The woods hid the school from the main road. Home to many tall trees packed tightly together, they had become a haven for drunks and druggies hiding. Many students of King Richard Academy also skived here, teachers avoiding the area for fear of assault. Crowds gathered in the woods after school to smoke, chat and watch the frequent fight. Occasionally police sirens would be heard just before the bell went off that announced home time, and when pupils streamed out the back entrance of King Richard Academy police officers would be standing around to prevent a fight and to arrest vandals. Graffiti was still a regular occurrence, and the lampposts the council had put up were still forced out of the ground and smashed using beer bottles and pieces of metal fence.

King Richard Academy wasn't a poor school however. The front entrance to the school was a drive, which was free from any problems, asides from the occasional upturned bin. Teachers and students alike could leave school this way without fear, younger years tended to leave this way even if it meant a longer route home. The reason was simple; the front entrance was safe, the back entrance wasn't. The front of the school led onto wide pedestrian-safe streets, with mini castles alining them. A large park, with perfect grass, well-mantained paths and a children's playpark also came into view quickly. The mini castles, actually houses complete with turrets, large driveways and electric gates to keep everyone out, were over £1 million each. The area was fondly known of as millionaire's district.

The other side of King Richard Academy, beyond the muddy playing fields, dark woods and busy road, was regarded with disgust by most people. The houses were all in a fit of disrepair and should have been knocked down years ago. Closed down shops with broken windows lined the streets which were swarming with pot holes and parts of cars which had fallen off as the driver sped around the estate. Joy riding was common, as was vandalism, robbery, assault and arson. Only last week, the medical clinic had been reduced to cinders, the fire brigade only being alerted when it was certain nothing would survive the inferno. The fish and chip shop and the chinese takeaway offered the neon flickering light in the dismal place, the smell of fat and grease wafting in every direction.

King Richard Academy somehow managed to achieve higher exam results than the nearby private schools, so most of the millionaires opted to send their children there, telling them it would not only be good for their education, but also would build their character having to cope and deal with situations the poor kids provided. So on the start of a new year of King Richard Academy, where the chilly autumn breeze, which had come early this year, was already forcing some students to wear scarves, rich and poor children alike slumped towards the grey building, which was certain to smell like bleach and varnish, as the cleaners had scrubbed it from top to bottom over the Summer holidays.

The blue linoleum on the floor had been covered in a fresh coat of varnish to make it shine. Dried chewing gum and parts of sweet wrappers were visible underneath where the cleaners had gotten bored and become careless. The Assembly Hall had been given a good scrub and the window that had been smashed replaced. Classroom carpets, which had been in shreds at the end of last term, were now back in one piece, instead of revealing the concrete floor underneath, where someone had scrawled crude words in permanent marker. Walls had all been given a fresh lick of paint, but peering closely the vague outlines of red pen were still visible. Whiteboards were wiped clean, and a bottle of bleach placed on every teacherís desk due to the number of penmarks which refused to come off.

Tables and chairs were all replaced after students had seen fit to smash and destroy them on the last day. The tanoy system was reinstalled; it had been disconnected after several death threats, coarse swearing, a vulgar song and the sound of a couple fornicating came over it. New locks were placed on every classroom and office door as last term keys had gone missing which resulted to the Head's office being trashed and several classrooms being locked with the teacher and class in them. New fire alarms were put in place since the old ones were cut off to allow a group of students to smoke in the music corridor. Finally, the school bell tone was changed. Last year, students had recorded the bell on their phones and set it off during class. Most teachers let them out.

One place that hadn't been touched by the cleaners were the toilets. King Richard Academy had nearly 1,500 pupils, yet it only had two sets of girl's and boy's toilets. The girl's and boy's toilets next to the cafeteria were in a dismal state. One sniff and strangers to the school went sprinting. The cleaners had simply replaced the toilet paper and left, gasping for air. Filthy toilets, used toilet paper on the floor, broken doors on the cubicles, upturned bins. Both girl's and boy's toilets had those traits. The girl's toilets also had foundation smears over the mirrors, cigarettes, pads and tampons littered everywhere and the cheap, overpowering smell of perfume mingling with smoke. The boy's toilets had the same smoke smell, but it was mingled with cheap deodorant and aftershave. The other toilets, on the bottom level of King Richard Academy, beside the bike sheds, used for hiding couples locked in intimate moments, were in an even worse state of disrepair. Lights no longer worked, windows were broken, toilet seats weren't attached to toilets. They were a deserted mess. Not that anyone actually cared. Most people avoided going to the toilet during school hours, and those who were desperate could break into the staff toilets next to the art department which were never locked.

King Richard Academy was ready to face a new year. The staff were all well aware that the multi-thousand pound refurbishment would have to be redone the next Summer, and the Summer after. That was just how it had always been. The building, as glittering as it could be at the moment, would very soon be in the same sorry state it had been in before Summer, and the staff would have to think up new ways to protect the things that the students would destroy if they could, but if they did, would result in the school's closure and their lack of a job.

The school year began at 8.40am, and the staff entrance was unlocked at 7am. Staff came in slowly, reluctant to be back after a relaxing holiday. The student entrances were opened at 8am, but no one came. Not that the Head and his support team were surprised. Students didn't arrive at school until the latest time possible. The earliest they would be arriving was twenty-five past. And not a moment before. As Richard, it was coincidence that he was Head of a school which appeared to be named after him if only he could be King, Plantagenet knew his students. He had been Head at King Richard Academy for nearly five years now, and had been blessed with the support of a great team of staff and a close relative, his cousin, Mr. John Mortain for his deputy.

So, as the clock ticked onwards, Richard could see a bunch of figures trudging towards the entrances and he sighed. The school year had just unofficially begun, and with pupils getting worse every year what treats and treachery would he be in for this year? Mr Plantagenet was joined shortly by Mr Mortain. Neither spoke, if they spoke it would ruin the illusion. The illusion that the new year hadn't actually begun, that when it did the pupils would be polite and kind, the very image of obedience. A scream consisting of crude words erupted from the back entrance. Both flinched, the illusion shattered for good.

"I suppose we should go before they arrive." Mr Mortain suggested heavily, wondering how students could be able to yell as loud as they did.

"Yes," The Head breathed resignedly. He had tried countless times to enforce discipline on the students. And failed more times than he had tried. But he and the school survived, albeit sparsely. The two men, already wearily with the bleak building turned, ignoring the squeak their shoes made on the floor, and walked briskly back to their respective offices and collapsing onto their seats. Infact, both had identical thoughts as they sat down; how long was it going to be before the October holidays?


	2. Chapter 2

They sounded like wedding bells. Not that there was anything to celebrate. Large pealing church bells, maybe they were funeral bells instead of wedding bells. The low monotonous noise of death. That would certainly describe the sound. The awful sound that had steadily got louder each minute. The sound which came out of the device on the other side of the room from the lump of duvet. The lump of duvet writhed around, and a trail of objects; a pillow, a book, a teddy, a slipper laid out the way between the duvet monster and the alarm. Another pillow joined the trail, missing the target completely. A pale hand stretched out from underneath the blue flowery cover, groping for something else to throw. The hand came into contact with a cylindrical object, and the duvet monster, who happened not to be a morning person, threw it without thinking.

This did reach the target. This object contained liquid however causing the alarm to fizzle and crackle. The object was also hard and smashed upon contact with the alarm. The object happened to be a mug of cocoa which Marian Fitzwater had forgotten about. The duvet monster was quickly replaced by a brown haired, blue eyed girl in her late teens looking like she had seen better days and currently muttering profanities under her breath. The small table on which the alarm rested on had been previously covered by a small white cloth, the cloth was now brown. The cocoa looked like it had seeped into the wires and the alarm's digital front was flashing from 00:00 to 23:59 faster than Marian had jumped out of bed. Pulling the plug out of the wall, she watched satisfied as the screen went blank and the room became silent.

The large room was exceptionally messy. Clothes were strewn about the floor and junk littered the remaining spaces. A bed with rumpled sheets and no pillows stood in the middle of the room and cupboards lined the walls. The TV gathering dust in the corner was proof of just how much time Miss Fitzwater spent in her room. So little infact that she couldn't even obey her father's order to tidy it before the end of the Summer holidays. Which was now. Not that Edward Fitzwater would ever check. He was rarely home these days, the new managing director ran a tight ship and insisted his staff worked longer hours than usual. So Edward had no idea his daughter was rarely ever at their house. The large building sat empty in the avenue surrounded by other houses of the same size, whilst an even larger house at the top of the avenue was filled with the sound of teenagers meeting up and having fun.

Marian stifled a yawn with her hand and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. She was now in Year 13, would be one of the eldest at King Richard's Academy. She could remember as a Year 7 starting off at the school thinking that she was going to get lost and die, and that the people who were in Year 13 were invincible if they had managed to survive that far in a school full of drink, drugs, violence and fags. Now she had spent six years at King Richard Academy she knew that it was just common sense that was needed to survive. And the right friends. Speaking of friends, Marian's phone had begun to vibrate on her bedside table; the sign that one of her friends was kind enough to make sure she had actually left her bed.

Marian stepped over a pile of lingerie, flipped open her phone, and putting on her most enthusiastic voice spoke into it, "Hello?"

"Marian! Get up! It's six o'clock!" The chirpy voice radiating out of the phone belonged to her best friend, Annie Glason, and the faint cries in the background belonged to her half-brother Seth who had just approached that awful age where he was crawling and wandering off unless someone was watching him constantly.

"I'm up!" Marian declared indignantly. She groaned inwardly as she realised how tired she sounded. Annie was always up all hours and was never tired compared to Marian who was simply not a morning person.

"Just checking after what happened at Easter!" Annie said cheerfully, "Two and a bit hours til school starts so hurry up and get ready!" What had happened at Easter was one of the embarrassing instances that was not the least bit funny for the participant, but to everyone else it was hilarious. Marian had forgotten that it was school, and had woken up at half past eight. She arrived an hour late for school looking like she had just walked through a bush. Needless to say Marian didn't like it being brought up.

"Shut up!" Marian exclaimed, glaring down at the phone, "I'm hanging up now..."

"Bye Marian!" Annie said joyfully, "I need to go feed Seth anyway." With that Annie hung up and left Marian standing in the middle of her messy bedroom a bemused expression planted on her face. Annie was one of those girls that you could instantly tell were going to be a brilliant mum, the way she doted on Seth was evidence. Whilst Marian adored Seth and helped to look after him with Annie she just didn't have the same edge as Annie.

Tossing her dark brown curls away her eyes so that she wasn't blind and also because the single hairs caught in her eyelashes were extremely annoying, Marian wandered out of her room and into one of the many bathrooms her house possessed. Marian's home, or Knighton Cottage as the painted iron sign next to the doorbell pronounced it although there was nothing cottage-like about it, housed seven bathrooms, six bedrooms, four reception rooms and a decent sized kitchen aswell as an attic conversion which was Edward's office on the exceptionally rare occasion he worked from home. Marian's bedroom and bathroom were on the landing, with the stairs leading down to the front door allowing for Marian to be able to run straight out the house in the morning without injury and also allowing her to exit the house with Edward not noticing on the tiny chance that he was in.

Stepping into the shower she quickly washed her hair and shaved whilst humming along to the bathroom radio. Wrapping a towel around her wet tresses and another around her body she padded back into her bedroom, leaving a little trail of water drops behind her. She pulled open the doors to her wardrobe and looked inside. King Richard Academy uniform was not strict and most (well all who didn't want to get beaten up) customised it in some stylish way so they blended in with the crowd. Marian herself did exactly that, she wasn't going to cause trouble unnecessarily. Pulling out the essentials of her uniform, she pulled her clothes on, checking in the mirror for any obvious marks and creases. There was a small white patch on her skirt which was caused by the party they had had at the start of the Summer holidays where a bag of flour had exploded next to Marian. She swore and fished around for another black miniskirt, if the skirt was too long she would be branded a freak. It was Marian's luck that there was another black skirt, this one was slightly shorter than her other one and Marian had to tug at it to stop it from exposing her bum. She pulled footless tights on underneath and hunted under her bed for her black pumps. She found them ten minutes later after multiple bruises had been planted on her head because she had tried to stand up whilst still under the bed. The shoes were caked in mud from when they had gone to a country park in the pouring rain and climbed a hill because someone thought it would be ifun/i.

Marian kicked her shoe collection around, trying to locate another pair of black shoes. She failed to find any, and the closest pair was dark purple heels. Deciding to come back to it later Marian pulled on a strappy purple top and on top wore her white school blouse which didn't have buttons above her boobs. The blouse hugged her figure and was low enough to give a hint but still remain modest. Her black-and-white striped tie was worn in a loose knot which hung down near her belly button. Glancing at her phone, which informed her that the time was 06:53, she admired her reflection in the mirror, brushing invisible hairs and creases out of her clothes. Her eyes drifted upwards and she grimaced at her hair and face. Last night's make-up wasn't off and her morning shower had caused her mascara to streak down her face which made Marian look like she was melting, especially with her lipstick smudged across her face. She didn't arrive home until after 1am so had under five hours sleep, not that any of her friends would have had anymore. Edward was unaware, having collapsed in his bed on returning from work at 11pm thinking Marian was already asleep in her room. So at one in the morning, crashing into her bed was more desirable than wiping off her make-up.

Grabbing a make-up remover wipe she smeared it across her face, scrubbing vigourously at her eyes before chucking it onto the floor, she could deal with the small pile of wipes that lay there later. Or she could just leave it there, it wasn't causing anyone any harm and no one would ever see. When she was hanging out with friends at Knighton Cottage, a rare occurrence, they would remain in the living room with it's plasma screen TV, surround sound system and proximity to the kitchen. Marian's make-up bag was probably the most used thing in her room, she used it more than she used her bed which was suprising given the state of her bed. Grabbing her foundation she spread it over her face and rubbed it in before fishing around for the rest. Concealer. Yes. More concealer for the love bites that appeared on her neck after the night her and her friends had gone into town and gotten drunk a couple of days ago. Yes. Blusher. Yes. Powder. Yes. Mascara. Yes. Liquid eyeliner. Yes. Pencil eyeliner. Yes. Eyeshadow. Yes. Lipstick. Yes. Glancing again at her reflection with satisfaction she smiled. Marian had always been lucky when it came to maintaining a semi-natural look even after putting on so much make-up.

The only problem now was her hair, but that could easily be fixed by a hairdryer, hair straighteners, spray and a bow. Plugging both pieces of electronic equipment in, she blow dried her hair quickly, her mind wandering onto what would happen at school. There was always some drama on the first day, especially with the new Year 7s. They tended to be unaware of the conflict between the two sides of the school unless they had older siblings and would make careless mistakes like asking someone from the opposite side for directions or getting in an older student's way. They always learnt after the first couple of weeks though. Annie told her that their registration class was the worst for the feud though, and Marian wasn't suprised. Davina & Pippin Vaysey absolutely hated the iscum/i that lived on the other side of King Richard Academy, and all their group of friends shared that view. Michael Ellingham, or just Ellingham as everyone referred to him by his last name including teachers, had even come up with a plan to destroy that side of King Richard Academy using some very powerful weapons. Ellingham's father was a very important figure in military weaponry and his son had inherited his passion for bombs and destruction.

With her hair relatively dry, Marian moved onto straightening her hair listening to the occasional hiss as the straighteners came across a damp patch, still thinking of her friend's ideas of how to rid themselves of the igreat unwashed/i, which was another of the Vaysey's nicknames for the other side. Harry Whinchester wanted to use a slightly less scientific idea to Ellingham's. He believed that the best plan would be a mass shooting, and Joseph Nex thought that feeding them poisoned mushrooms would be more entertaining. George Lucky, fondly known by his friends as Lucky George, wasn't clever enough to think up any plans to kill the chavs, but he thought they should pay burglars to nick all their possessions, something Davina was quick to scorn. Thomas Carter always avoided telling them what he would do and Marian was convinced he was friends with some of their year from that side, not that she minded. Some of the girls from the other side of King Richard Academy that were in her registration were lovely people, and if wasn't for the fact that Marian couldn't be bothered to get into the Vayseys' bad books (their father just happened to be Edward's boss) she would probably be friends with them.

Running her fingers through her hair she reckoned it was straight enough and on inspecting it knew it was poker straight, which was up to high hair standards that her friends had. 'It wasn't as if they were that vain, it was just that they liked to look nice.' Marian thought as she secured a purple bow to keep her hair off her face and lightly sprayed her hair with hairspray to keep it from frizzing up in the damp atmosphere. Time check; 07:52. Just time to locate her bag and books before her friends came round and the group of teenagers trudged to King Richard Academy for their final year before they split up and went on with their lives in different ways. Hopefully her way would be towards an university with a great reputation and then on to a respectable job with a fair boss and away from the arguments between the two sides of King Richard Academy.

Her bag was easy enough to find, it was hanging up behind her door, filled with sweet wrappers from the last day of the Summer term. The last day always consisted of a long, tedious ceremony inwhich each subject presented awards to outstanding pupils of every year group. In Year 7 it had been exciting, seeing the whole school population plus a couple of proud parents seeing off the Year 13s and congratulating the few who had got through the school year without once getting a detention. On her last day of Year 12 however, it was boring and repetitive. Each teacher made virtually the same speech and there was at least thirty awards given to each year group. Marian and her friends had only survived the occasion due to the excessive amount of sweets they had consumed during the four hour ritual. When Marian was in Year 11, less than 100 students turned up to the ceremony, she certainly hadn't. The staff were shocked and disappointed by the lack of show and it had been made compulsory to attend. Failure to do so would result in immediate suspension and even possible expelling. There was nearly 1,500 pupils and multiple teachers and parents in the cramped hall when she was in Year 12.

The books however were not. The large heavy textbooks which would steer Marian through her AS levels in French, English literature, History and Mathematics had gone into hiding. Hiding from the small bag where they would be squashed and rolled into, or hiding from Marian's temper which would result in a number of ripped pages as they were hurled across the room when the content inside appeared to be in Icelandic according to Marian's eyes (and she didn't speak Icelandic.) Not that it mattered whether or not she spoke Icelandic, but the fact remained the same; her textbooks had disappeared and her lack of jotters hinted that they had gone to same way. A crease appeared on Marian's brow as she sifted through piles, glancing up at the time every couple of seconds. The first to be discovered was her French jotter at 08:01, followed by her History textbook at 08:08. Her English jotter was flung on her rumpled bed at 08.13, with her brain working overload trying to remember where she could have possibly placed her maths stuff. Good luck was with her, and by 08.19 she had all her jotters and textbooks complete with calculator, ruler and black biros.

The school stuff was hastily stuffed into the small Jane Norman shoulder bag along with a supply of make-up incase a reapplication was needed at either break or lunch. The purple heels had Marian's feet inserted into them and the teenager grabbed her bag and ran out her room, down the stairs. She paused and her face contorted with exasperation before she dropped her bag and rushed back up the stairs. Grabbing the perfume bottle that lay discarded next to the mirror she sprayed herself before returning downstairs with her purse, phone, ipod and perfume. Depositing the items in her bag she took a few deep breaths to compose herself and she glanced at the time, about 25 past 8. Taking confident steps towards the door, she picked up her keys, which were on the hall table, and opened the door which led towards another school year. But she was ready, she would always be ready. She would take whatever King Richard Academy through at her with smiles.

"Oh, hey Marian." The blonde that she had nearly bumped into said moodily, "I don't suppose Annie told you that her and Guy were going to be late did she?"

"Hi Davina!" Marian replied, putting on her chirpiest voice and giving her ifriend/i a quick hug, "I guess that Seth is giving them trouble or something."

They linked arms to walk down Marian's garden path where her friends were waiting just outside. Pippin Vaysey and his girlfriend Cerys, who happened to be Pippin's twin Davina's best friend, were standing a little apart from everyone else, sharing saliva. Both girls avoided looking, turning their attention towards the main part of the group. Sarah with her trademark heavy eye make-up was pressed up against Lucky George, who was ignoring her in favour of listening to Joseph who was talking about how his iidiot/i of a mother had nearly killed the family when she had used mushrooms from his experiment in the garden to make dinner. Ellingham was listening as he continued his tale, whilst Harry Whinchester turned to give Marian a small flirty smile.

Davina's indrawn breath of disproval could be easily heard by Marian, and she patiently waited for Davina's rant about someone to start and hopefully finish too. "It's ridiculous!" She began in low tones, "She looks like a slut, no, scratch that, a prostitute. I'd be suprised if any money she had ididn't/i come from illicit activities! And Joseph! Why would anyone care about his bloody mushrooms! I wish he had eaten them, it would have saved hearing about them and Harry, he thinks he's in love with you! Surely he should know by now that it can't be love, it's just an infatuation, after all, you aren't that pretty!"

Marian smiled as Davina ranted, the only person she could never find fault with was Pippin, because she worshipped him. Literally. Davina looked up to whatever her brother said and agreed with him completely on everything. If he said jump, she would immediately do so, even if it was safer to duck. Davina's comments about Harry's obvious crush on her didn't bother Marian either, if Davina was going to quash all his attempts to go out with Marian Fitzwater then she wouldn't have to do it herself, and he just wasn't really her type. Unless of course she was drunk. Every male was her type when she was in that state.

"Hey guys!"

All turned at the shout, and even Pippin and Cerys broke apart, especially since it belonged to the ex-girlfriend of Pippin's best friend, Guy Gisborne. Annie broke into a run towards them, balancing a bag which had fallen off her shoulder and a cardboard container containing three plastic (recyclable) cups. Davina groaned, it was no secret that she didn't really like Annie. She was too upbeat, optimistic and too close to Guy for Davina's liking. Plus she had only moved to millionaire's district because Annie's mother was the live-in secretary and mistress of Mr. Gisborne (Guy's father). Mrs. Gisborne spent all her time abroad in Rome, Paris and Madrid buying designer clothes, jewellery and shoes that she would never wear. The muddy blonde haired, blue eyed girl was about the same height as Marian, except today she looked much smaller, Marian had heels on, Annie wore pumps.

She hugged Marian first, then gave Davina a quick squeeze before giving them both one of the cups, which they accepted gratefully. The Gisborne household was a couple of streets away from their meeting point, and Annie & Guy passed a small group of shops (newsagent, off licence and post office) and a Starbucks on the way so Annie always picked up coffees for Marian, Davina and herself.

"Sorry we're late, the incompetent fool of a nanny was disgracefully late today!" Guy said smoothly as he came up behind Annie, "I suppose you would like me to take the rubbish aswell?" He said as Annie shot him a smile.

"Of course, how nice to ask!" She said, before plonking the cardboard carton in his outstretched hand, "So how are you Marian since I last spoke to you?" Annie and Guy had an unusual relationship. They were forced to live as siblings due to their parents, but once there had been a mutual attraction. They went out for a while, whilst Guy developed feelings for Marian, and then broke up aimably. Several drunken one night stands resulted in Annie's pregnancy about half a year ago and Mrs. Gisborne returned from the continent to make sure Annie got an abortion and then took her on a major shopping spree as consolidation. Her reason was that Annie and Guy were far too young to have children, and if Annie wanted to look after a child she should help with her little brother. Mrs. Gisborne was blissfully unaware of her husband's infidelities and thought of Seth as the secretary and an unknown lover's child.

"I'm fine, the usual, you know. Lost everything," Marian said as Davina walked away to pull Cerys away from Pippin and engage her in a conversation that would interest both parties.

"Hi Marian!" Guy said, giving her a small smile and an awkward wave before being hauled away by Pippin, who without Cerys had to make do with his loyal best friend.

"Guy says that Thomas Carter has been hanging out with the other side," Annie told her in hushed whispers as they made the short journey from outside of Marian's house up to King Richard Academy. They had just over ten minutes to get there, and the journey took just ten minutes. Drinking scalding hot coffee took over ten minutes however, and the three girls were grateful that their form tutor would turn a blind eye to the drinks.

"Really? Remember he spent five weeks abroad in Turkey with his parents. He could hardly be hanging out with the other side whilst he was in a foreign country Annie!" Marian said, chiding her friend gently. She could easily see what trouble these rumours would cause if they spread and were lies. Thomas would be left with no friends, but she thought he did have a couple of friends on the other side so maybe it would be alright.

"What about the other two?" Annie asked, taking a sip of her milky coffee, "Don't say anything supportive infront of Davina though, you don't want to be pregnant with Thomas' child aswell!" The two girls laughed at the last rumour Davina had made up about Marian joining Annie on the list of Guy's pregnant conquests. 

"I know!"

"I'm just warning you!"

"I know that too!"

"Annie," Annie and Marian turned to Davina, who had linked arms with Cerys and was currently showing her a new song that was on her phone, "Had anymore accidents lately?" She asked, a slight hint of evil in her voice.

"Annie's been very careful Davina, only slipped in the shower once this morning," Guy laughed, coming to her rescue before she said something rude to Davina which would result in a divide in the group of friends.

Davina turned away disappointed and Annie stuck her tongue out, "Female dog," she whispered. Guy hit her playfully on the arm, before dragging her away from Marian so that she could listen to a lecture from Joseph about mushrooms. Guy was hoping to return and get Marian alone, but Davina had beaten him to it, with Cerys having gone back to Pippin. It seemed, when Cerys was occupied with Pippin, Marian was the second most bearable.

"Hey guys! Haven't seen you around!" A voice exclaimed. Marian felt Davina's grip tightening around her arm, so she stopped herself from responding.

"We've been meeting up with our friends frequently," Guy told Thomas Carter as the group brushed past him, everyone giving the poor teenage boy evils.

Annie laughed pleasantly, running towards a bewildered Thomas and slipping her arm through his, "Hey, how was your holidays?"

The vice like grip Davina had on Marian's arm tightened, "That little..."

"How long have we got before we're late?" Marian asked quickly, not wanting Davina and Annie to have an argument. She did her best to prevent arguments among them, it didn't benefit either of them, and she would be on the receiving end of both the girls rants.

"Not long," Joseph replied truthfully, before glancing at his watch where his face changed from contentment to shock "We're late! We're actually very late! It's an omen. Who ate mushrooms for dinner last night?" Joseph exclaimed, "They must be punished."

"Shut up!" Cerys exclaimed, having disattached her lips from Pippin's for a few seconds in order to say that.

"We've got a minute," Harry told her, flashing an attempt at a charming smile, "Don't worry, I'll cover for you."

"She is perfectly capable of thinking up an excuse as to why she was late!" Davina snapped, dragging Marian away and marching up to the gloomy building.

"It looks like a prison, doesn't it?" Marian said, the smile not making it onto her face.

Davina contemplated for a second, before replying, "No. A fortress. A castle where everyone has their position and place, and those who disregard the classing system-" Here Davina shot a death glare at Thomas Carter, "-are severely punished, as they deserve."

Marian rolled her eyes and gave Davina a light shove, "What's the new song?"

"That one Johnny Depp sings in Sweeney Todd,"

"Which one?"

"My friends.. I think," Davina replied thoughtfully.

"Did you know that they've changed the bell tone," Ellingham announced loudly, earning groans from the group of teenagers as each one fished out their phone and deleted the track from the memory card.

"I bet the new one is designed so that we collapse on hearing it!" Lucky George, "We could make a profit on selling earmuffs."

"A clue: no!" Pippin said scathingly, "That's worse than your stupid suggestion to buy itheir/i furniture!"

"Bell should have gone off..." Thomas mused, but he was ignored by the unforgiving group.

iBring! Bring! Bring!/i

"The bell!" Harry gasped, "We can't be late!"

"We can and we are," Thomas Carter replied evenly earning him more glares.

The group entered King Richard Academy and walked down the confusing maze of corridors to their form room. With all their experience and knowledge of the school, they were in form in under thirty seconds.

Mrs. Aquitaine glanced up from her register and smiled. The English teacher who was also their form tutor was a kindly woman who rarely raised her voice and thought the best of everyone, "How was you holidays?" She asked politely.

Davina, who always answered for the group when Pippin was occupied, this time with Cerys' lips, replied, "Good. The weather was good too, which was a welcome suprise." Talking politely to Mrs. Aquitaine about the weather could get anyone out of anything. Eleanor Aquitaine loved polite conversation about the weather.

The even reply allowed them to sit down on their side of the classroom. The other side was occupied by those who lived on the other side of King Richard Academy.

After glares were thrown across the tables, and Guy looked like he was about to punch one of the iscum/i, Mrs. Aquitaine spoke up, "There are two new members to this form and I want you to make them feel welcome. That means you Davina."

"Who are they?" Davina replied confidently, the unworded question being what side of the school were they from.

"Why don't they introduce themselves?" Mrs. Aquitaine suggested.

"What?" Davina said perplexed.

Marian and Annie scanned the room and saw two strangers slouching at the back of the classroom. One was wearing a green hoodie which made it impossible for his face to be seen. The other was eating a packet of crisps and had another packet crunched into his hand.

"Who are they?" Marian whispered to Annie.

"They're obviously from ithat/i side of the school, but why are they sitting on our side of the classroom?" Annie whispered back.

The green hoodie got up and began to saunter towards Davina, who couldn't help but take a step backwards, Mrs. Aquitaine glanced up from her papers and glared, "HOOD!" The boy stopped perplexed, whilst Eleanor Aquitaine rose from her seat. The kindly woman couldn't abide hoodies, she liked to see everyone's faces.

Meanwhile sniggers had broken out, and Davina laughed loudly, "Well, hello Hood."

The hoodie was pulled down and the handsome face frowned, "I am actually Robin Locksley, and that is my friend Much Bonchurch."

Pippin snorted, "Robin Locksley who got his father to take him on an around the world trip with his best friend, and when you returned discovered all your parents wealth had been spent?"

Marian was still sitting in shock. It couldn't be him. He had left when she was ten. They had made a pinky promise that they wouldn't let the other suffer alone, and Robin shoots off around the world when her mother gets cancer, leaving Marian to suffer by herself. She was his best friend in those days, and it had hurt to see him go off with a boy who he was calling his best friend, even when she was there being his best friend. At the age of ten, Marian bore grudges. This habit had died away upon entry to King Richard Academy, but the one particular grudge she bore towards Robin Locksley remained.

"The very same." He replied cockily, which caused Marian's blood to boil. He couldn't just walk back into life and fit in with the surroundings. He just couldn't.

"May you tell us why you are sitting on this side of the classroom then?" Marian said as sweetly, but as poisonously as possible.

A gasp rose on both sides. This was Marian Fitzwater. She might do nothing to stop her friends picking on people, but she didn't participate in it. But at that moment, she was sitting there, giving the new boy a glare which could burn.

Robin did a double take. The attractive brunette had very familiar deep blue eyes. Could it possibly be... "Marian!" He said joyfully, a smile erupting onto his face.

Annie glanced at her friend, and knowledge washed over her face. This was the Robin that Marian hated with every fibre of her being, "She was politely telling you to get lost back to where you belong." Annie said as loudly and as strongly as possible.

Marian nodded, her voice caught in her throat. Why was he back? Why did she have to deal with this?

Robin glanced at Marian, and sighed. She obviously was still as stubborn as she was seven years ago, but he was bewildered at the behaviour radiating from both sides of the classroom. His new friends, who happened to be in his form, had told him that the two sides of King Richard Academy didn't get on and the posh side was led by Pippin & Davina Vaysey. Their side didn't really have a leader, and Robin was keen to make an impression, maybe he could be their leader then. But why was Marian involved in this feud? She was a kind person who thought the best of everyone, or she had been when he had last seen her. Seven years couldn't have changed her that much, could it?

The two sides of the classroom settled down, both engaged in a silent war. Mrs. Aquitaine glanced up from the paper work that had already begun to pile up on her desk, it happened to be marking from before the Summer that she had forgotten to mark, and sighed. There was no point in trying to make them get along. After all, what was the saying again? You can lead a cow to water, but you can't make it drink.

bAN: Sorry this took so long to update. I just wasn't happy with the last part. Have fun trying to guess what episodes all the characters come from./b


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